KSEV Mornings · October 26, 2026 · Hour 1
CNN’s “closing argument” take on Trump’s Nicki Minaj remark, Kamala Harris in Mississippi, and Wayne’s $32,000 public records fight with Corpus Christi.
President Donald Trump’s Nicki Minaj remark at his Port Huron, Michigan, rally lasted seconds, and CNN asked whether it was the Republican closing argument. In Monday’s first hour, Wayne Dolcefino and Craig Coglianese took on that coverage, played Kamala Harris’s Mississippi rally audio and got into Wayne’s new public records lawsuit against the city of Corpus Christi.
CNN’s “closing argument”
Trump campaigned Sunday at McMorran Place in Port Huron for Michigan Republicans Mike Rogers and John James, and called Nicki Minaj up on stage after a crude compliment about her figure. Wayne had been watching CNN, where the discussion turned to whether that was really the closing argument Republicans want. Craig had his own name for the network: “The Communist News Network.”
Wayne said Trump probably talked for an hour or more and spent only seconds on Minaj. “I don’t think he spent 10 seconds,” he said. “And CNN concludes that that’s the closing argument for Republicans because it’s what they choose to play to their audience, which I think is a reflection of the media of our times and the battle that we are facing.”
Watch: Wayne on CNN’s “closing argument” coverage of Trump’s Michigan rally
Low-information voters and the Carla Wyatt numbers
Wayne said that’s the battle with what are called low-information voters. “I like to use the word dumb, but the low information is fine,” he said. Craig brought it home to Houston. The show’s interview with two drivers hit in the I-45 crash involving Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt drew about 500 views online, he said, while “we got 2,000 views for a video about something stupid.”
Craig doesn’t think all of those voters are dumb: “I think a lot of them are just, they think they’re doing the right thing.” Many vote for one party every two or four years without checking the candidates, he said. Wayne thinks people do care but are so bombarded with information that they tune out, which is why a campaign has to start early: “You’ve got to repeatedly pound people with the same message.” He called it frightening that Harris County has seen 41% property tax increases in the last three years, and said the officials behind them are “all going to win.”
Kamala Harris in Mississippi
Craig played audio of Kamala Harris at her Oct. 22 rally in Columbus, Mississippi, in what’s been described as a Southern preacher accent, paired online with a clip of her in New Hampshire. Then he played this line: “When you feel powerless, you are powerless. When you feel powerful, you’re powerful, and we are powerful.” Craig’s review: “I don’t know what that is. I don’t know what she’s saying there.”
Wayne noted that CNN has been calling former President Barack Obama, who rallied in Michigan on Saturday, the “closer in chief.”
“Winners never win”
Craig followed the Harris audio with a story from his childhood. When he was 8 or 9, his mom dated a man named Chuck who, Craig said, was drunk constantly. At a concert on the beach in Jersey, Chuck pointed at someone and told him, “Son, just so you know. Winners never win and cheaters always prosper.” Craig remembers thinking, “That can’t be what that phrase is supposed to be.” Chuck lasted only a few months. Wayne, for the second time, suggested getting Craig’s mom on the radio.
Craig’s advice for Harris: “Stop trying to share what you think is wisdom on a stage” and “give the straight answer to something and move on.”
Wayne sues Corpus Christi over phone records
Wayne said he’s suing another Texas city over records, this time Corpus Christi, with the case set to be filed Monday. He asked for six months of phone bills for five council members, looking only for calls and texts with three people. The city’s cost estimate came back at $32,000, based on 1,800 hours of work. “I think it’s a scheme,” Wayne said.
Wayne said pulling his own texts with Craig off his phone would take him about 15 minutes. Craig agreed: “It would not be that hard. No, I could collect it in less time for less money.”
Watch: Wayne on the $32,000 estimate for Corpus Christi council phone records
A profit on public records
Wayne explained that governments can add overhead to records requests. His example was a hypothetical 15% charge for electricity, even though the work happens “during the day when the lights are already on.” Craig asked who gets the overhead. Wayne: “We have to give the government a profit when we asked to see the records detailing the money that we paid them to spend.”
On a separate request, he said, the city quoted $12,000. He didn’t pay, told them he’d sue, and the city ended up sending three emails.
Polls and the 12%
Wayne said he’d heard statewide numbers showing Republican voting topping Democratic voting for the first time as of Friday, and that voters on the sidelines may break late for Republicans. He also did the math on close polls: 45 to 43 adds up to 88, “which means there’s like 12% of the voters who they don’t know what they’re going to do.” Craig wasn’t buying it: “They might’ve told a pollster that, but I really don’t think at this point 12% of people are still undecided.”
On the Texas Senate race, Craig said he and Wayne agreed Friday that a tightening poll is probably good for Ken Paxton, “and knock on wood it will be.” He added that James Talarico “doesn’t reflect any values of Texas, and yet he’s running a close race.”
Wayne’s family court investigation
Wayne previewed an investigation coming later this week. A few weeks ago, a 4-year-old Houston-area girl was shot and killed by her mother, who then turned the gun on herself, hours after a court ordered custody changed from mom to dad. Wayne said Houston police have an ongoing criminal investigation, and his team is looking at the custody case, the court and campaign contributions “made to the judge, the elected judge, prior to the changing of custody.” “There are people that get campaign contributions right in the middle of heated family disputes,” he said.
Texans fall to the Giants
Wayne listened to the Texans’ 27-21 overtime loss to the Giants in his car on the drive back to Houston and wasn’t happy. Craig, a Giants fan, was. Producer Russell said the Giants came in ready and were the more physical team in J.J. McCarthy’s first start for New York. He doesn’t think the coach belongs on the hot seat after one bad year and sees this week’s bye as a chance to “right the ship.”
Craig’s shelf
The hour opened with Wayne asking about the shelf behind Craig: a New York Yankees World Series champions banner and rows of collectible pop figurines, from superheroes to Yankees to Vito Corleone. One of them, a Lou Gehrig, is worth about $400, Craig said, because once they stop making a figure, it gets more valuable. Wayne spent his weekend with his grandkids, including a trip to the Lego store, where he learned a Christmas shopping lesson: buy gifts in front of the kids and you have to hand them over now.
Hear Craig and Wayne live weekdays from 7–9 AM Central on AM 700 KSEV, The Voice of Texas. Visit the KSEV Mornings show page for live-listening controls and more episodes. Listen live weekdays 7-9 AM CT on the KSEV app.
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